Chord attachment for guitars



April 1965 B. LUKASZEWSKI ETAL 3,178,722

CHORD ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1963 ff/ff/ffA/f B. LuKAszEwsKi ETAL 3,178,722

CHORD ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS April 13, 1 965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1963 April 3, 1965 B. LUKASZEWSKI ETAL 3,178,722

CHORD ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS Filed Feb. 5, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 H l w' P J? H J' M III M Mr I e N WN a mi M) a a: 1 I

lNV TOR FM? W? United States Patent 3,178,722 CHORD ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS Bruno Lukaszewski and Peter Lukaszewski, Toronto, On-

tario, Canada (both of Breitenweg 115, Erlach, Bern, Switzerland) Filed Feb. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 256,357 4 Claims. (Cl. 84317) This invention relates generally to such multistringed instruments as guitars, ukulele, banjos and the like, or any such instrument embodying a multiplicity of strings and requiring one hand for the stopping off of the strings at various frets, the remaining hand being engaged in the plucking of individual strings to produce single notes, or executing a strumming action across the strings to produce chords. More particularly this invention relates to a fingering chord attachment for guitars which obviates the complex and difficult finger technique a beginner must master before he can perform with competence on his instrument.

The finger technique a tyro player has to acquire in order to play a guitar or the like is such as to discourage many people who would otherwise derive much pleasure from playing, this being particularly so in the case of older people whose manual dexterity is restricted and whose ability to absorb unfamiliar skills is limited. Again, many aspiring guitarists are forced to abandon their ambition due to the physical damage sustained by their finger ends, splitting of the skin and numbing of the nerve endings. It

is common knowledge in the art that professional players invariably loose all sense of touch in the finger ends used to stop off strings, this damage being irreparable. Thus, many people having musical ability are unable to express their ideas due to the mechanics of the instrument rather than a lack of creative talent.

Prior devices of the art have sought to provide attachments which will substitute by mechanical means for those fingers of the player engaged in stopping off strings and while these devices achieve their several intended objects with varying degrees of success their design and action leave much to be desired.

Accordingly it is a prime object of the instant invention to provide a fingering chord attachment for guitars or the like, referred to hereinafter by the term chord selector which will enable an unskilled player to select a wide range of chords, the manual dexterity necessary to do so being greatly simplified.

It is another object of my invention to provide a chord selector, the basic use of which may be acquired within the first two or three lessons.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a chord selector which has a positive and clean stopping off action thus producing notes and chords of high tonal quality.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a chord selector which enables the player to register majors, minors and sevenths.

A further object of this invention is to provide a chord selector which is adapted to pre-register for the following, anticipated, required chord, one fingering medium being depressed for, say a major chord, whereafter registration means are moved to pre-set a minor chord, this providing that upon release of the first fingering medium, the complete fingering media system will immediately move to the minor chord location so that the next individual fingering medium will upon being depressed provide the pertinent minor chord, the same operation, if required, pre-setting for the playing of sevenths.

Yet a further object of my invention resides in the provision of a chord selector having a set of fingering media which is self adjusting, this providing for the different 3,178,722 Patented Apr. 13, 1965 lengths of guitar strings being depressed for stopping off at the pertinent frets.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of a chord selector which obviates the physical damage caused by the continuous pressure and friction of the individual strings upon a players stopping off fingers.

Yet another object of my invention resides in the provision of a chord selector which will enable a professional guitarist to play the complete range of chords, many of which are impossible to obtain by the finger technique.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a chord selector which greatly reduces the time taken to teach a pupil to play proficiently and therefore reduces the cost of such tuition.

Still a further object of my invention provides a chord selector having means whereby the fingering media is pro tected from damage or distortion in the unlikely event of this-registering.

A yet further object of this invention provides a chord selector which substantially reduces the finger pressure normally required to stop off the strings so that even a young child may easily apply the required pressure.

These and various other pertinent objects and features of the instant invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of parts and assemblies and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a chord selector embodying the present invention shown in position on the upper neck of a guitar with the shield portion removed.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the invention showing the chord register plate mounted in the operative position and the shield portion afiixed.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the invention with the chord register plate removed.

FIG. 4 is a part cut-away perspective View of the invention with the fingering assembly removed and showing the location of the various arms.

FIG. 4a is reduced scale perspective view of a register bar embodied in the invention.

FIG. 5 is an inner side View of the chord register plate showing the operative parts thereof.

FIG. 6 is a part cut-away perspective view of the invention from the under side showing the assembly of the stopping off quadrants.

FIG. 7 is a fragmented sectional side elevation of the invention as illustrated in FIG. 1 taken on the line 7-7 and showing the typical action of a key upon its being depressed.

FIG. 8 is a perepective view of a fingering bracket support frame with the fingering brackets removed.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of a guitar neck illustrating the relationship between a guitar string and the frets.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 7 a chord selector indicated generally by the arrow 10 includes an elongate box-like housing 11 having two parallel spaced apart side walls 12 and 13 and a base 14. Housing 11 contains a plurality of fingering brackets 15, pivotally attached in a pertinent spacial relationship in the upper part of housing 11. Brackets 15, which are substantially S shaped in configuration have their lower ends 15a rigidly attached to a plurality of adjaoently situated parallel disposed vertical cones 16, each of cones 16 having a first transverse straight edges 16a disposed downwardly. Pivot pins 17 located longitudinally within a second t-ransversed straight edge 1% of cones 16 axially support a plurality of shallow coil springs 18 which, in a preferred embodiment are located one each end of cones 16 and are adapted to bias cones 16 and hence bracket 15 in an upward direction.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5, 7 and 8 cones 16 are retained within an elongate rectangular support frame 19 3 having two oppositely located downwardly depending side walls 19a, housing 11 having therewithin two longitudinal channels 24) formed subjacent and in close proximity to the upper longitudinal edges 12a and 13a of walls 12 and 13 respectively, channels Ztl being coplanar and adapted to slidably receive frame 19 therebetween. Frame 19 has a cut-out section 1% wherein cones 16 are housed, pivot pins 17 having their respective ends located in a plurality of parallel spaced apart holes 21 formed through each side of cut-out section 1% within walls 19a.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4 a plurality of elongate arms 22 having first ends 23 and second ends 24 are adapted to lie longitudinally within housing 11 immediately subjacent frame 19. Arms 22 are pivotally secured at their first ends 23 by means of a common pivot pin 25 located transversely of and within housing 11 at its upper end 11a, and having their opposite ends 24 housed within an end block 26.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 7, each of arms 22 has a plurality of cut-out sections 22a formed transversely on their upper longitudinal edges and one downwardly depending projection 22b.

During assembly, projections 22b form a plurality of transversely aligned groups, said groups being so spaced apart as to comply with the distance between successive frets on the neck of a guitar or the like.

Referring to FIG. 6 a plurality of substantially hori- Zontally located quadrants 27 in transversely aligned groups are retained within a cut-out portion 28 formed within base 14 of housing 11, each group of quadrants 27 being pivotally and independently operable on transverse pivot pins 29. Each of quadrants 27 has a first end 27a and a second end 27b, end 27a being adapted to receive a pivot pin 29 theret-hrough and having a cut out portion 27c centrally therein, cut out 270 permitting a coil spring 27d to be axially mounted on pivot pin 29.

A plurality of spring retainer bars 3d located transversely across cut out 28, parallel with pivot pins 29 and immediately adjacent to ends 27:: of quadrants 27 are adapted to support the ends of coil spring 27d, opposite ends of coil springs 27d bearing on quadrants 27. Coil springs 27d are so tensioncd as to bias quadrants 27 in an upwards direction towards arms 22 Within housing 11.

and ends 27b of quadrants 27 have small downwardly projecting lips 27c.

Referring again to P16. 4, end block 26 includes an end wall 26a and perpendicularly inwardly projecting top walls and bottom walls 26b and 260 respectively. An elongate rectangular member 26d is rigidly attached to bottom wall 260 and uppermost thereon having a plurality of perpendicularly outwardly extending sections 26!: and a rectangular crown plate 26 attached thereabove and thereto by screw means or the like.

Upon mounting chord selector l longitudinally upon the upper neck of a guitar, quadrants 27 will be positioned immediately above the guitar strings but not in contact therewith. Quadrants 27 are so spaced as to position lips 270 of each group, immediately above a pertinent fret. Therefore, by depressing one of fingering brackets the transverse edge 16a of the attached cone 16 will move in a downward direction and will, dependent upon its relative position, bear on certain of arms 22 and enter cut out sections 22a of other arms and thus providing selective movement of arms 22.

Upon an arm 22 being so depressed, the downwardly depending projection 22b thereon will contact a pertinent quadrant 27, biasing this downwardly and against its spring 27d. Quadrant 27 will move downwardly until its lip 270 contacts a guitar string at a particular location and presses this firmly against the co-operable fret.

Thus by depressing a particular fingering bracket certain of quadrants 27 will stop off the relative individual strings located along the neck of a guitar to provide that one depression of one fingering bracket may cause one 4 or more strings to be contacted concurrently and in different locations to provide a pertinent chord.

It should be noted that a diagonal score track 31 runs transversely across arms 22. Score track 31 is intended to act as a guide during assembly so that the relevant arms 22 are positioned in the correct spacial relationship within housing 11.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, an auxiliary arm 32 located substantially centrally of and parallel with arms 22 and pivoted upon pivot pin 25 has a plain upper edge 32a and a downwardly projecting tongue 3211 located on its lower edge toward end 11a of housing lll. Tongue 32b is adapted to pass through an aperture 14:: formed through base 14 of housing It, a plate spring 33 attached by screw means 33a at one end thereof, bearing against tongue 32b and pushing arm 32 upwardly toward edges 16a of cones 16.

A further arm 34 located substantially parallel with and immediately next to arm 32 and also pivoted upon pivot pin 25 has a plurality of teeth 34a formed within its upper edge. Thus upon depressing a bracket 15 and moving the relative cone 16 downwardly the transverse edge lea of said cone 16 will bear against auxiliary arm 32, moving arm 32 downwardly against spring pressure of plate spring 33, transverse edge 16a of cone 16 then locating positively between the pertinent teeth 34a of arm 34 thus ensuring the retention of edge lla at its desired location upon arms 22.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 a slide plate generally designated 35 adapted to select and if required pre-select major keys, minors or sevenths includes an elongate rectangular member 36. Member 36 has its upper and lower longitudinal edges 37 and 38 formed inwardly to present shallow, projecting walls 3% and 38a respectively. Similarly ends 39 and 4t? are formed inwardly to present walls 39a and 40a respectively. Two pivot pins 41 and 42 are adapted to pass through walls @011 and 39a subjacent and in close proximity to upper wall 37a, pin 4-1 being threadably retained within a lug 43, said lug projecting outwardly from and being rigidly attached to wall 13 of housing llll by screw means or the like, pin 42 being likewise retained within a second lug 44 suitably located on wall 13 of housing 11 and adjacent wall 39 of member 36. Thus member 36 is pivotally retained upon pins 41 and 42.

An inwardly projecting section 45, integral with member 36 and located on lower longitudinal edge 38 and in close proximity to end 39 has a small dowel 45a projecting inwardly therefrom, and lower longitudinal edge 38 has three, spaced apart, downwardly depending sections 46. Upper wall 37a has a small downwardly depending projection 37b located substantially opposite section 4-5. An elongate rectangular strip 47 is located immediately subjacent wall 37a and attached centrally thereto by screw means or the like, having its ends formed downwardly and outwardly to form arms 47a and 4712.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 3, an elongate rectangular back plate 48 is rigidly and longitudinally affixed to side wall 13 of housing ill. Back plate 48 has a first end 48:: and a second end 48b. Two spaced apart inverted U channels 48a and 4% project outwardly from the upper longitudinal edge 480 of plate 48 and two guide troughs 50a and 5011 are located on lower longitudinal edge 48d of plate 455 and substantially opposite channels 49a and 4% respectively.

A slide unit 51 of substantially rectangular configuration is adapted to move longitudinally within troughs Stla and 50b, two spring clips 52a and 52b being attached by welding means 53 at one end and having their opposite ends slidably retained within channels 49a and 4% respectively, thereby retaining unit 51 in a sliding fit between troughs Stla and 50b and channels 4% and 4%.

Slide unit 51 has a longitudinal slot 54 formed centrally therethrough, slot 54- being adapted to receive a pin 55 which projects outwardly from back plate 48, pin 55 having a flattened section 55a formed on its uppermost edge. A downwardly projecting tongue 55b is adapted to bear on section 55a of pin 55 when pin 55 is central within slot 54.

Two U springs 56a and 56b are retained under tension one each side of slot 54, their inner legs acting as resilient stops against pin 55. Two further U springs 57a and 57b located one each side of springs 56a and 5611 are also retained under tension, their outer legs projecting upwardly above unit 51.

Unit 51 has two outwardly projecting lugs 58a and 585 formed on its upper edges in a spaced apart relationship, lugs 58a and 58b being suitably angled so as to approximate the angles of arms 47:: and 47b of strip 47 on plate 36.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 6 a rectangular plate 59 is rigidly attached to base 14 of housing 11 and projects outwardly therefrom immediately subjacent lug 4-4 and has a triangular cut out section 59a formed therein, the base of triangular section 59a being disposed outwardly and the apex of said section pointing inwardly.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5 upon assembling slide plate 35 on wall 13 of housing 11 pivot pins 41 and 42 are inserted therethrough and located within their respective lugs 43 and 44, and dowel 45a is located within triangular cut out section 59a, arms 47a and 47b of strip 47 being positioned between angular lugs 58a and 53b in close proximity thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 4a and 6, a key register bar 60 having a first end 60a and a second end 66b has three toothed notches 61, 62 and 63 formed within its upper longitudinal edge, a downwardly projecting tongue 64 located on its lower longitudinal edge subjacent said notches, a perpendicularly outwardly projecting plate 65 located on said upper longitudinal edge and rearwardly of notches 61, 62 and 63, and a longitudinal slot 66 formed substantially centrally within end 66a.

Bar 6% is adapted to pivot about pivot pin 25 and is positioned substantially centrally within andparallel to arms 22, end 66b being located within end block 26 in a like manner to ends 24 of arms 22.

A link plate 67 has a lower section 67a attached to plate 65 of bar 60 and a raised upper section 67b. Section 67b has a substantially cruciform shape, the two arms being bent inwardly to form small channels 670. Two U springs 68 have their coiled sections anchored by upwardly projecting portions 69 of plate 67 and have their outer legs retained within channels 670 while their inner legs project outwardly beyond plate 67 one each side of an upwardly projecting pip 70 formed on the end of plate 67.

It should be noted that plate 67 has its lower section 67a located within a rectangular cut out 190 formed longitudinally within support frame 19 and that its upper section 67]) is located immediately above but not in contact with frame 19. Thus any longitudinal movement of bar 66 within the limits of slot 66 will cause link plate 67 to move freely in either direction.

A further link plate 71 has a first section 71a attached to frame 19 and a stepped down second section 71b. Two U springs 72 anchored similarly to U springs 68 on link a plate 67 have their two inner legs extending over the edge of section 71a and located one each side of an upwardly projecting lug 73 formed on the upper end edge of bar 60.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5 upon assembling slide plate 35 to housing 11 is heretofore described projection 37b is located between the ends of the outwardly projecting inner legs of springs 68. Thus any longitudinal movement of plate 35 will cause projection 37b to bear against one of the pertinent legs of spring 68. Therefore, such a longitudinal movement of plate 35 will be transferred via the pertinent spring 68 through link plate 67 to bar 60. As bar 66 is also linked by plate 71 and its springs 72 to frame 1%, frame 19 will move the same distance and in the same direction as plate 35.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4, 4a and 6, auxiliary arm 32 which is located immediately adjacent bar 60 and substantially parallel thereto has a small perpendicularly, outwardly projecting key 32c which in the pre-operative position is located immediately above notches 61, 62 and 63 of bar 66. Upon depressing a fingering bracket 15 the edge 16a of its pertinent cone 16 bears down on the upper longitudinal edge 32a of arm 32 and against the tension of plate spring 33, pushes arm 32 downwardly thereby locating key 320 within one of notches 61, 62 and 63 depending upon the position of 'bar 60. As key 320 enters its co-operable notch 61, 62 or 63 edge 16a of cone 16 also enters toothed arm 34 at a pertinent location. Thus frame 19 is locked within housing 11 and cannot move longitudinally in either direction.

Concurrently certain of arms 22 will be pushed down by edge 16a of cone 16 and will in turn depress a pertinent selection of quadrants 27 thus stopping otf various strings at different frets and providing a selected chord arrangement.

In the case of key 320 bearing down upon the top of the notched segment and not locating positively within the pertinent notch, no damage can ensue to the fingering media as tongue 66 of bar 60 bears down through an orifice 74 formed within base 14 and applies pressure to a plate spring 75, spring 75 acting as a safety means against any strain imposed upon the fingering media.

Operation and key selection Upon chord selector 10 being mounted on the upper neck portion of a guitar as illustrated in FIG. 1, depression of any of fingering keys 15 will result in the stopping off of various strings at certain of the frets as heretofore disclosed. Referring particularly to FIGS. 5 and 6, by depressing a fingering key 15 with slide plate 36 in its first position, i.e. with dowel 45a located within triangular cut out 5901 at point x key 320 of arm 32 will be located within notch 61 of bar 66 and frame 19 locked at a pre-determined location within housing 11. All chords formed upon the guitar strings will issue as major chords when slide plate 36 is in this position.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, with dowel 45 located at point x within triangular cut out 59a section 55a of pin 55 will be located at position A within slot 54 of slide unit 51, unit 51 being retained there at by pressure of springs 52a and 52b and inner leg of spring 5612.

By applying light inward pressure to slide plate 36 (this being achieved by the thumb of the player) dowel 45:: will move toward the apex of triangular section 59a to take up a position at point Y. Thus plate 36 will move longitudinally towards end 11a of housing 11. Projection 37b on plate 36 will bear against the inner leg of pertinent spring 68 on link plate 67 causing this to move co-operably with slide plate 36 and move bar 60 longitudinally within housing 11, thereby moving frame 19 via link plate 71. Upon depressing one of fingering brackets 15, key 32c will be located within notch 62 and frame 19 locked against further movement.

All chords struck with frame 19 in this position will be in sevenths.

By extending slide plate 36 (this is achieved by thumb pressure against one of downwardly depending sections 46) to its full limit, dowel 45a will move to the z position within triangular section 59a while arm 47b of strip 47 will engage with angular lug 58b, applying upward pressure thereagainst and against spring 52b. Concurrently with this action outer leg of spring 57a will be forced inwardly against the tension of its coil, therefore exerting longitudinal pressure on unit 51. Thus, upon arm 47b moving lug 58b and therefore unit 51 in an upward direction, tongue 55b will also move upwardly, thereby disengaging pin 55 and allowing unit 51 to move longitudinally through the force of spring 57a. Arm 47b and 58b will then disengage and unit 51 move downwardly 7 thereby locating pin 55 in position B within slot 54 of unit 51.

As slide plate 36 moves to its full extent longitudinally so will bar 60 and frame 19 in the manner heretofore described. Upon depressing one of fingering brackets 15, 15, key 32c will be located within notch 63 of bar 69 and frame 19 locked against further movement.

All chords struck with frame 19 in this position will be minor chords.

Thus it will be readily seen that with the fingering media comprising twelve fingering keys, each key being capable of registering a major or minor chord or sevenths, thirtysix chords are possible on chord selector ltl as specified in this embodiment. By including a further notch within bar 6t) and forming further pertinent recesses within arms 22 an additional 12 chords may be obtained thus making a total of forty-eight chords, thereby including the dim. seventh. A forty-eight chord selector of this nature would have application to the professional guitarist, Whereas the specified embodiment herein described is intended for gen eral use.

Pie-selecting of required anticipated chords Upon a player wishing to play, for example, the following chord sequence: C major, F in sevenths and. G major, he would initially depress that fingering bracket designated C, key 320 entering notch (ill and the appropriate quadrants 2-7 stopping off the guitar strings at a pertinent fret. A C major chord may then be formed in the conventional manner. By depressing slide plate 36 so that dowel 45a moves from point X to point Y within triangular section 59a, plate 36 will move longitudinally and projection 37b will bear against the inner leg of spring 68. However, as C bracket 15 is still depressed, key 32c will still remain within notch 61 thereby preventing movement of bar 60 and frame 1%. Spring 63, although exerting a longitudinal force upon bar 6t? via link plate 67, is unable to move bar as.

Upon releasing C bracket 15, key 320 leaves notch 61 thereby releasing bar 6% which, acting under the pressure of spring 68 moves forward thereby moving frame 19 an equivalent distance in the same direction via link plate '71. The player then depresses the F bracket 15, thus inserting key 320 in notch 62 and locking frame 19. An f chord in sevenths may then be formed in the conventional manner.

By depressing slide plate 36 and thus moving it longitudinally, arm 47a bears on the outer leg of spring 57a thereby tensioning it. Upon release of slide plate 36 and F bracket 15, spring 5% moves slide plate longitudinally back to its original position with dowel a in the X position, bar 68 and frame 19 moving the same distance and in the same direction.

Similarly upon a player having moved slide plate 36 to its full extent, thereafter depressing one of key brackets 15 and registering a minor chord, depression of slide plate 36 will move dowel 45a to position Y within triangular section 59A, slide plate 36 moving longitudinally and causing projection 3713 to bear against pertinent spring 6% and thereby tensioning it. Upon release of key bracket 15 bar will be disengaged as heretofore described and frame 19 will move longitudinally to the sevenths position.

Thus it will be seen that any anticipated chord following the one being played may quickly be selected. The speed of this chord selection being infinitely more rapid and immediate than would be physically possible by the conventional finger technique which often necessitates the transposition of the players finger from one position to an entirely different one. The rapidity with which these chord changes may be performed while using chord selector 10 is such as to create a smooth uninterrupted flow of chord sequences without any awkward pauses.

Referring now to FIGURE 9 a conventional guitar neck indicated by the arrow 1% has affixed thereon a plurality of transverse tone wires or frets Irtll. A guitar 8 string 1&2 retained at its upper end 102A by a peg his travels longitudinally down the neck of the guitar and at right angles over the frets. In order that string m2. may be stopped off at various of frets ltll without dampening contact with any other of the frets, the string is maintained at a predetermined angle. Thus by stopping off a string at the uppermost or first fret none of the lower frets will contact the string, the distance between fret and string increasing as the string travels down the neck of the guitar.

Referring to FIG. 6 it will readily be apparent that upon mounting chord selector it) upon the upper neck of a guitar those of quadrants 27 which engage with the guitar strings and pertinent frets in the upper location on the guitar neck will not have to travel the same distance as those engaging at a lower location. Therefore to compensate for this disparity, downwardly depending projections 22B on the underside of arms 22 gradually increase in length the further down on the guitar neck the pertinent quadrants are to operate. Furthermore, recesses 22A on the upper longitudinal edge of arms 22 become progressively deeper as the locations occur lower down in relation to the guitar neck.

Thus, although the movement of fingering brackets 15 is identical in distance, the pertinent quadrants depressed will, according to their location in relation to the guitar neck, be moved an appropriate distance, thereby rendering the fingering media self adjusting.

Referring particularly to FIG. 6 downwardly projecting lips 27E of quadrants 27 have a plurality of ribs 27F formed thereon in such a manner as to be aligned longitudinally with the strings of a guitar. Thus upon a lip 27E making contact with a guitar string and pressing it down upon a fret, ribs 27F will ensure a positive contact etween the string and quadrant 27. Although longitudinal ribbing is specified as a suitable medium for this purpose any suitable alternative may be embodied, such as for instance, knurling of lip 27E.

Similarly the upper edges of the frets may have formed thereon indentations or knurling the better to create positive contact with an imposed string.

In final assembly, chord selector 1! is positioned on the neck of a guitar as illustrated in PEG. 1 and retained thereon by conventional screw means at end llb of housing ll, end block 25 being adapted to receive a plurality of screws therethrough which are threadably attached to a support block 194 suitably located upon the head N5 of the guitar and retained thereon by screw means.

A shield member 106 which may be regarded as a decorative attachment screening off the upper portion of frame 19 and the head of the guitar is attached to housing 11 by conventional screw means or the like and projects longitudinally outwardly therefrom, conforming substantially to the contours of head Hi5.

The general design of the individual parts of the invention as explained above may be varied according to requirements in regards to manufacture and production thereof, while still remaining within the spirit and principle of the invention, without prejudicing the novelty thereof.

The embodiments of this invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A chord selector for guitars including a plurality of fingering brackets, each said fingering bracket being securely afllxed to a pivotally mounted transversal cone member, a plurality of arms longitudinal of said chord selector and pivotally mounted at the forward end thereof about a transversal common an axis, each said arms having cut-outs in the upper edge thereof whereby the depression of one said fingering bracket selectively depresses a plurality of said arms and a downwardly depending projection in the lower edge of each said arms: a plurality of quadrants, said quadrants being pivotally mounted in a plurality of rows, the said quadrants of each row being vertically pivotable about a common transversal axis each of said quadrants being cooperable with one of said downwardly depending projections whereby the depression of one of said brackets produces a chord, and selectively positionable means whereby each of said fingering brackets selectively produces a plurality of chords.

2. A chord selector for guitars as defined in claim 1 in which said selectively positionable means selectively positions said plurality of fingering brackets longitudinally of said chord selector whereby each said fingering bracket selectively depresses a different combination of said arms in each of said positions, thereby producing a ditferent m chord in each of said positions.

3. A chord selector for guitars as defined in claim 1 in which the number of said fingering brackets is twelve and the number of said arms and of said quadrants is twenty-four, and said plurality of chords produced by each said fingering bracket is in the same key.

4. A chord selector for guitars as defined in claim 2 in which said selectively positionable means comprises a plate pivotally secured to said chord selector and slidable longitudinally thereof, said plate being selectively slidable into two of said positions and pivoted into a third of said positions, said fingering brackets being cooperatively slidable into three corresponding positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 627,410 6/99 Graus 843 17 1,687,849 10/28 Schmidt 84317 1,719,832 7/29 Fazio 84317 1,735,145 11/29 Taubert 84-317 LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CHORD SELECTOR FOR GUITARS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF FINGERING BRACKETS, EACH SAID FINGERING BRACKET BEING SECURELY AFFIXED TO A PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TRANSVERSAL CONE MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF ARMS LONGITUDINAL OF SAID CHORD SELECTOR AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT THE FORWARD END THEREOF ABOUT A TRANSVERSAL COMMON AN AXIS, EACH SAID ARMS HAVING CUT-OUTS IN THE UPPER EDGE THEREOF WHEREBY THE DEPRESSION OF ONE SAID FINGERING BRACKET SELECTIVELY DEPRESSES A PLURALITY OF SAID ARMS AND A DOWNWARDLY DEPENDING PROJECTION IN THE LOWER EDGE OF EACH SAID ARMS: A PLURALITY OF QUADRANTS, SAID QUADRANTS BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN 